Guidelines in Low and Middle Income Countries Paper 2: Quality assessment of Chilean guidelines: need for improvement in rigor, applicability, updating, and patients' inclusion

Objectives: The Chilean health system mandates providers to ensure assistance under a guaranteed system, the Explicit Guarantees in Healthcare (EGH) program. The Health Ministry has developed clinical practice guidelines (CPGs), but independent assessment of their quality is lacking.

Study design and setting: We assessed all CPGs of the EGH program using Appraisal of Guidelines for Research & Evaluation II (AGREE II) tool for appraising quality, validity period, and last update.

Results: Eighty-six CPGs were published between 2005 and 2016. Only 15 (17.4%) were updated. The overall mean raw score was 4.18 (±0.98). The scaled scores for each domain were: Scope and objectives 79.7%, Stakeholder involvement 46.2%, Rigor of development 36.3%, Clarity of presentation 82.8%, Applicability 23.5%, and Editorial independence 39.2%. The highest items were: overall objectives described, population described, options for management clearly presented, and key recommendations easily identifiable. The worst evaluated items were: views and preferences of the target population, strengths and limitations of the body of evidence, methods for formulating the recommendations, external review by experts, and description of facilitators and barriers to application.

Conclusion: Most Chilean CPGs included in the EGH program are outdated and show items that should be improved, mainly through a more rigorous methodology, the inclusion of patients in its development, and appropriate consideration of its applicability.